Corruption a big issue

Corruption is a cancer on society and it is destroying trust in our democracy.

It has always existed and Australians have always tried to root it out, but now it seems we are losing the battle.

If we do not stem the tide of corruption people will lose faith in the system, and worse, in each other. If that happens we will become a dog eat dog world where the biggest con artists wins.

If we will lose trust in our institutions honest Australians will just become mugs taken for a ride on the road to riches for the liars and cheats.

Lately we have seen scandal after scandal exposed in banks and old peoples homes, hurting ordinary Australians, and perpetrated by people who knew exactly what they were doing.

What really worries me is what is happening at the top.

Dodgy allocations of massive amounts of public money and giveaways to mates and associates, repaid in kickbacks, are now the norm.

A fish rots from the head.

We need a Federal Anti Corruption commission that can investigate, like Fitzgerald did, so at least we know who has done what.

We need to warn off all those who think they can take down the Australian public to line their own pockets or get themselves cushy jobs in corporations as payback.

Politicians should be able to exist on the generous parliamentary pensions we give them.

Enough is enough. We cannot accept bald face lies and have our children learn that cheating is the way to the top and still have the kind of Australia we all want – a land of opportunity, fairness and compassion that we can all be proud of.

The cynics will say it can never happen. Do not believe them. We have it in us to make a better country. We just have to do it.

Paul King, Toowoomba

‘‘ WE NEED A FEDERAL ANTI CORRUPTION COMMISSION THAT CAN INVESTIGATE, LIKE FITZGERALD DID

NATURAL CATASTROPHY

I’m going to have to disagree with Dave Fredericks regarding his opinion of cats.

They’re vile destructive creatures, they may put on a sweet purring front during the daylight hours for their unaware keepers but once the lights go out they’re nothing more than in-discriminatory relentless killers in the night.

I’ve been awoken every night for the last week now between the hours of 11pm and 2am by my dogs barking at the neighborhood’s semi-domestic cats that get let out to free roam – venturing into my yard to defecate and a couple of them I successfully trapped on Friday night.

Perhaps this week I’ll enjoy uninterrupted sleep so my spiritual being can be at its best.

Kev McKay, Toowoomba

BE PROUD

Queenslanders have every right to be proud following our parliament’s passage of the broadest human rights laws in Australia, to the benefit of people with a disability and other disadvantaged citizens.

Queensland is the third Australian state or territory to introduce human rights laws, but the first to place the right to health care and education on the same footing as civil and political rights.

When people with a disability cannot access health care and appropriate education, it causes entrenched, life-altering disadvantage.

These rights are especially poignant to Endeavour Foundation, whose founding families fought for the right to education for children with intellectual disability.

With these laws Queensland is setting a standard to protect the dignity and worth of each person, regardless of age, race, sex, disability, social status or any other characteristic.

The creation of a Human Rights Commission ensures ordinary people can raise their human rights concerns with the Commissioner, making the laws more accessible for people with a disability.

Andrew Donne, CEO, Endeavour Foundation

LETTERS

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